Charles



( oooooooo APPARATUS-FOR GOVERING WIRE WITH SOFT METL.

l wvl/MMR 4% 0%@ UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. Y

J. CHARLES APPLEBY, OF JERSEY CITY, NEWT JERSEY.

APPARATUS FOR GOVERING WIRE WITH SOFT METAL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 374,166. dated December6, 1887.

Application filed April 26, 1887.- Serial No.236,l59. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J. CHARLES APPLEBY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Jersey City, in the county of Hudson and State of NewJersey, have invented certain new and luseful Improvements in Means forCovering Wire Cables, Vire, dsc., with Lead, Alloy, Soft Metal, or otherPlastic Material; and I do hereby declare that the following is afull,clear, and exact description of theinvention, which will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use' the same.

This invention is more particularlyintended for covering wire cables,comparatively stili' wire, &c., with lead, alloy, soft metal, or otherplastic material, with t-he object of avoiding the necessity of givingsharp bends or curves to the cable or wire, as the case may be. Saidinvention may, however, be employed for coverin g cables or wire of moreflexible character, if desired. It may, further, not only be used forcoveringsuch articles with lead, alloy, or

vother soft metal, but also forcovering metallic cables, wire, Snc.,with any suitable plastic material, either for the purpose ofelectrically insulating the same or for the purpose of protecting thesame from external injury.

One feature of my said invention is, furthermore, also intended topermit one and the same set or system of covering devices to be employedupon cylinders varying in diameter, thereby enabling` one of such set orsystenis to be employed, as occasion may require, upon one or another ofseveral cylinders of differing capacities.

My invention comprises certain novel combinations of parts, whereby theobjects aforesaid are effectuall y secured.

Figure l is avertical transverse sectional view taken in the line am ofFig. 2, representing an apparatus embracing my said invention. Fig. 2 isa side view and partial sec tional view taken in a plane atright anglesto Fig. l of said apparatus. Fig. 8 is a plan View of the same.

At A and B are represented, respectively, the upper part of thecylinder, in which is placed the material with which the cable or wireis to be covered, and the piston or plunger, actuated by hydraulic orother suitable power, by which said material is ejected from C is thehead, to which is provided, as here-` inafter explained, the devices bywhich the covering material is placed upon and around the cable or wire.This head C is firmly secured upon the end of the cylinder A by any gsuitable means-as, for example, by transverse bolts a, passing throughcoincident holes in lugs on thehead C, and lugs c, secured tothe side ofthe cylinder A. Any other preferred means of securing the head C to theend of the cylinder may be employed.

Upon the inner end or surface of the head C are provided annular ribsorsplines c,which may be two or more in number, and which, when the headis in position upon the vcylin` der, shouldbe concentric with thelongitudinal axis of said cylinder. When the head C is in its place uponthe end of the cylinder, one or more of these ribs or splines e iit intocorresponding groovcs'f, formed in the contiguous end of the cylinderand concentric with the axis ofthe latter.

By providing several cylinders of different diameters, but each with asystem of grooves, f, which have the saine radius and a similarcross-section with the corresponding ribs of the head C, the head C maybenscd at will upon any of said cylinders. With a cylinder of smallerdiameter the innermost of the ribs e will be within the line of theinternal walls of the cylinder, but the outermost of such ribs will fitinto the grooves of the corresponding radii in such cylinder, so thatwithin certain predetermined limits one cylinder head C may be used withseveral cylinders.

The head C has at one side an inlet-passage, g, and at the oppositeside, preferably higher than the inletpassage g, is an outlet-passage,This outlet-passage 7c may be placed lower down or higher up, so long asits relation with the inlet-passage g is such thatthe cable or wire(indicated at D) is not bent to a degree sufticient to bring the cableor wire entering and leaving through said passages to a right or acuteangle, it being the object of the fea ture of the invention now underconsideration to enable the cable or wire to be covered without bendingthe same to any considerable degree. linterposed between theinlet-passage g IOO and the outlet-passage 7c is an annular die, E,which is preferably externally threaded, so that it may be held in placeby being screwed into a xed nut, m, suitably provided in the head C. Atubular core, F, is in like manner inserted between the inlet-passage gand the outlet-passage r, and behind the annular die E. The space n,between the apex of the tubular core F and the annular die E, determinesthe thickness ofthe covering placed upon and around the cable or wire Din the operation ot the apparatus, and a space, r, around the taperingor conical portion of the tubular core F, behind the annular die E,communicates by passages G With the interior of the cylinder A, saidpassages joining the space r at opposite sides of the tubular core F, sothat when the lead .or other soft metal or plastic material in saidcylinder' is forced outward by the piston or plunger B it passes throughthe passages G into the annular space or chamber 1, and thence betweenthe apex of the tubular core F and the annular' die E, and around andupon the cable or Wire D simultaneous with such passage of said cable orwire. Said cable or Wire, as the case may be, is covered by or inclosedWithin the plastic material, Which,in effect, forms a pipe or tubearound the same.

In order that the cable or wire D may pass readily to and through thetubular core F and annular die E, the head C is chambered adjacent tothe inletpassageg to provide room for a pulley or roller, I, thecircumference of which is preferably grooved, and which is arranged insuch relation to the inlet-passage g as to guide the cable or Wire DWhile the same is passing through theinlet-passage g into direct and duerelation with the tubular core F, thereby insuring the propertransmission of the cable or Wire D through the tubular core and theannular die, and also preventing any undue friction upon the cable orWire as the same is guided to the tubular core and the annular die, asexplained.

By means of my invention, therefore, I am enabled to cover cables,comparatively stiff Wire, and the like without subjecting the same toshort bending, which in sorne eases is almost impraeticable, and inothers-as, for example, in covering with lead or other soft metal Wiresalready provided with a covering of gutta-percha or other insulatingmaterial-is liable to injure such covering or insulaling material. I amalso enabled to effectually cover such relatively stiff wire or rigidcables or Wires Without undue friction upon their surfaces or upon theinsulating covering with which they may be already protected.Furthermore, as the annular die E and tubular core F may be readilyreplaced by others of different internal diameters or proportions, andinasmuch as the head C may, as hereinbefore explained, be used uponcylinders of different capacities or provided with pistons worked Withdifferent power, I ani enabled by the use of one and the same head C toemploy cylinders of different capacities, power, 5cc., as occasion mayrequire, in the production of covered cables, wires, Ste., of differentdiameters, different thicknesses of covering, 85e. I am, furthermore,enabled to adjust one and the same head upon such cylinder, as theexigencies of the case may require. Any suitable means may be employedfor maintaining the contents of the cylinder A at the temperature bestcalculated to secure the required degree of plasticity, and in likemanner any suitable means may be employed to prevent the head C and theparts carried thereby from becoming overheated.

The die E, instead of being of a true annular form to cover'cylindricalWires, cables, Src., may be oi' any other suitable shape to' conform tothat of the cable, Wire, or other article to be covered. Thus, Yforexample, for a cable more or less flattened the die would be ofelongated shape, the general contour of the die corresponding to that ofthe crosssection of the cable, wire, or other article to be covered. Itis therefore to be understood that the term annulan as employed in thisspecification and the claims thereof, is sufficiently comprehensive toinclude dies circular, oblong, cruciform, rectangular, or other in theircontour.

lhat I claim as my invention isl. Ahead for the cylinders ofwire-covering machines provided with an annular die, E, a tubular core,F, and suitable passages for the transmission of the cable or Wire to becovered and for the inoW of the covering mate- IOO rial to the die, andconstructed with a plurality of annular ribs e, all substantially as andfor the purpose herein set forth.

2. In an apparatus for covering Wire, the combination of a cylinderhaving substantially a plain face at its open end, a head provided witha passage and connected With the opening of the cylinders, and with acoveringforming die within the head, and a rib or ribs surrounding theopening of the cylinder and serving to prevent thelateral escape of thecovering material, and mechanism for fastening said covering-head uponthe end of the cylinder, substantially as described.

3. rIhe combination, in a wire-covering machine, of a removable head, C,containing passages 'for the Wire to enter and leave said head, the coreF, surrounding the Wire, the die E, serving to determine the size of thecovering ot' the wire, the passage G', and the rib or ribs c for makinga joint between the cylinder A and head C, substantially as described.

J. enAnLEs APPLEBY'.

Vitnesses:

CHARLES A. HERBERT, ALBERT G. AUBERY.

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